Railway car construction



Feb. 6, 1940. w. J. TANGERMAN RAILWAY CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed April 19, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 6, 1940.

w. J. TA NGERMAN RAILWAY CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed April 19, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Afforng) H Patented Feb. 6, 1940 UNITED STATES RAILWAY CAR CONSTRUCTION William J. Tangerman, Hammond, Ind, assignor Standard Railway Equipment Company,

Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application April 19, 1 938, Serial'No. 202,919 2 Claims. (01.. 105-409) The invention relates to open top railway cars and particularly to the wall construction for such cars. The wall performs two functions. It constitutes the load retaining means of the car and it acts as a girder which transmits the Weight of the lading to the body bolster and thence to the trucks.

There are a great many open top cars in service in which the vertical side posts or stakes are mounted on the outside of the car with the load retaining sheets secured to the inside surface thereof and extending between adjacent posts. This construction limits the capacity of the car unnecessarily. Service conditions dictate the maximum width to which a car may be built which is, in the construction heretofore described,

the width over the stakes. Some cars have been built with the stakes'on the inside of the car and the sheets extending to the maximum possible width. This construction utilizes all .of the available capacity but has a distinct disadvantage in that the stakes are subject to corrosion caused by contact with the lading. In order to withstand this corrosion the stakes must be of a heavy sec tion. This is undesirable because it increases the non-revenue load which has to be hauled. It is an object of the invention to increase the cubical capacity of the car and also to position the stakes on the outside of the car to avoid said corroding influence.

It is possible to increase the capacity of the car by pressing outwardly projecting panels in the wall sheets of the car. It is sometimes impractical, however, to press panels of sufiicient depth to utilize all of the available car width. There,-

fore, it is an object of this invention to offset the lower portion of said sheets toward the car. This, in effect, moves the entire sheet outwardly. It is, therefore, a further object that by thus moving the entire sheet outwardly the capacity of the car isincreased more thanby pressing a deeper panel.

It is a further: object of the invention to increase the height and width of the heap load; that is, that portion of the lading which projects above the top chord of the car. the top chord outwardly the amount by which the lower margin of the sheet is offset. If the width of'the base of the heap be increased it is then possible to increase its height and, therefore, its volume so that another object of the invention is to increase the cubical capacity of the car by increasing the volume of the heap load.

The side of a car forms a girder comprising a top chord, lower chord or side sill, and: struts or This is done by moving stakes extending between the upper chord and lower chord. The lading usually hauled in an open top caris of a type which exerts a horizontal pressure against the side and end walls of 'the car. It is, therefore, necessary that the stakes function as vertical beams to resist this horizontal thrust. Although the top chord ofiers some restraint to the stake it is not very effective due to the nonri id character and great length of the topchord. The stakes, therefore, function effectively as cantilever beams secured rigidly to the lower chord of the car and loaded at adistance above said lower chord. The maximum stress occurs at the point of support; that is, closely adjacent the lower chord.

The stake formed as herein illustrated hasits inward surface substantially coincident with the marginalportion of the wall sheet. The contour of said'inward surface follows the sheet Where the sheet is offset adjacent the lower chord, while the outward surface of the stake does not deviate.

It is a further object of'the invention to make the wall sheets adaptable to cars of different widths with a minimum expense for dies. If a standard depth of outwardly projecting panel is adopted any variation in the desired width over panels is possible by varying the depth of the offset portion. Dies for changing the depth of the offset portion cost much less than dies for changing the depth of the panel.

It is a further object of the invention to provide meansby which the type of sheet and stake just described can be conveniently manufactured. The means comprises simultaneously forming'in the wall sheet an outwardly projecting panel and aninwardly projecting oflset portion. This oilset portion serves not only to space the sheet away from the lower chord, but the webs connecting the biiset portion to the sheet become a part of the stake during the subsequent flang'mg operation which forms the stake. It is an object of the invention then to position the offset portion so that the webs increase the depth of the stake adjacent the offset portion. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of an open top railway car.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 'of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is an alternate construction. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Figs. 5 and 6 are sections on lines 55 and 6-B, respectively, of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 shows a modified construction.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a sheet with a panel and an offset portion after pressing but before shearing and flanging.

Fig. 9 is the sheet of Fig. 8 after shearing and flanging.

Figs. 10 and 11 are sections on lines l0l0 and H I, respectively, of Fig. 8.

Figs. 12 and 13 are sections on lines l2--l2 and i3--| 3, respectively, of Fig. 9.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 the parts of the car are the upper chord 2, the lower chord or side sill 3, load retaining wall sheets 4, stake 5 preferably formed integral with the wall sheets 4 and extending between the upper chord 2 and lower chord 3 and a cross member 1 of the underframe. The wall sheets 4 have pressed therein outwardly projecting central panels 6 extending substantially between adjacent stakes 5 and between the upper 2 and lower 3 chords.

The inner face of the upper chord 2 is spaced outwardly from the plane of the outer face of the lower chord 3. The lower marginal portions H) of the sheets 4 are oiiiset inwardly ii and connected by webs E2 to the marginal portions if) of the wall sheets. The offset portions H are secured by rivets 13 to the lower chord 3. This arrangement allows the sheets 4 to remain effectively in the plane 8 of the inner surface of the top chord 2 and also to be connected to the lower chord 3, thus increasing the cubical capacity of the car by the amount of the offset i l.

The stake 5 is formed preferably by fianging I4 and refianging if the vertical marginal portions l8 of the sheets 4. The offset portions H extend between and merge into the flanges l4 of the stakes 5. The adjacent sheets 4 are se cured together and a very strong stake 5 is formed by welding at I! and 18. The outer face 22 of the stake 5 is positioned entirely in one plane, preferably that of the outwardly projecting panel 6. The inner face 23 of the stake 5 is coincident with the margins N5 of the sheets. Since the margins l6 are offset H at their lower endsthe inner face 23 of the stake 5 is also offset, thus increasing the depth of the stake 5 at its lower portion adjacent the lower chord 3. The depth of the stake is defined as the dimension 24 in Fig. 2. The stake 5 is subjected to horizontal pressure, therefore, it functions as a cantilever beam in which the greatest stress is at the point of support, or, in this case, at the lower chord 3. The entire wall structure of the car is thus strengthened because to increase the strength of a beam at its weakest point is to increase its strength overall.

Figs. 5 and 6 show a section of the stake 5 at its lower end as compared with a section near the center illustrating the increase in depth 24 possible with the offset H wall sheets 4 heretofore described.

Fig. 3 shows an alternate construction in which the top chord 2 comprises a pair of angles in which the distance between the outermost and innermost edges is greater than the depth of the panel 5. The upper margin of the sheet 4 is offset inwardly, the offset portion 4| being connected to the mainmportion of the sheet by a web 42 substantially the same slope as the upper web 43 of the panel. This will not impair the discharge of lading when the car is turned over in a dumping machine. Fig. 3 also shows an alternate construction adjacent the lower chord 3. The web l2 connecting the offset portion II to the sheet 4 is in the same plane as the lower web 44 connecting the panel 6.

Fig. 7 shows an alternate construction in which only one vertical margin of a sheet 49 is formed with a flange 5D. The adjoining marginal portion 5| of the adjacent sheet 52 is overlapped and secured to the sheet 49. The stake 53 is integral only with one sheet 49 instead of with both sheets, as shown in the other illustrations. This construction allows the panel in sheet 52 to extend closer to the stake 50, thus increasing the cubical capacity of the car.

Figs. 8, l0 and 11 show a plan view of a sheet 4 after the panel 6 and offset portion II have been pressed therein. The sheet was originally rectangular in shape, as shown by the dotted lines 3i, while the solid lines 32 show the contour formed when the panel 3 and oilset portion I i are drawn. The offset portion l l is connected to the sheet 4 by a horizontal web l2 and two vertical webs 33. The web I 2 preferably has a slope substantially like that of the lower web 34 of the panel 6 (see Fig. 4) so as not to interfere with the discharge of lading when the lading is discharged through hopper doors in the bottom of the car. webs 33 are preferably formed substantially upright, as shown in Fig. 10, so that the offset portion H may merge into the flange 14 more readily.

Figs. 9, 12 and 13 show the sheet after the flanges l4 have been formed. The flanges H are positioned so as to be in the same vertical plane as the webs 33 connecting the offset portion H. After the sheet 4 is flanged, the webs 33 function as parts of the flanges M to increase the depth 24 of the flanges adjacent the offset portion ll. Forming the offset portion II in a position when its webs 33 may be used to increase the depth 24 of the stake not only increases the cubical capacity of the car, but increases its strength as well.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof, within the scope of the claims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In an open top railway car, the combination of a lower chord, an upper chord spaced outwardly from the vertical plane of the lower chord, and a wall sheet secured to said chords to form a load retaining means therebetween, the vertical marginal portions of said sheet being formed with outwardly projecting flanges to function as stakes between said chords, said sheet having formed therein an inwardly projecting ofiset portion adjacent said lower chord, said offset portion extending between and merging into said flanges and being secured to said lower chord, said sheet also having formed therein an outwardly projecting panel to increase the cubical capacity of the car, whereby the depth and strength of said flanges are greater adjacent said lower chord than adjacent said panel and whereby said wall sheet is spaced from said lower chord by said offset portion to further increase the cubical capacity of the car.

2, In an open top railway car, the combination The vertical of a lower chord, an upper chord spaced out- 1 wardly from the vertical plane of the lower chord, and a wall sheet secured to said chords to form a load retaining means therebetween, a vertical marginal portion of said sheet being formed with an outwardly projecting flange to function as a stake between said chords, said sheet having formed therein an inwardly projecting ofiset portion adjacent said lower chord,

10 said offset portion merging into said flange and 1 being secured to said lower chord, said sheet also having formed therein an outwardly projecting panel to increase the cubical capacity of the car,

whereby the .depth and strength of said flange the car.

WILLIAM J. TANGERMAN.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

February 6, 19Lp0.

Patent No. 2,189,586.

WILLIAMJ. TANGERMAN.

e of the assignee in the above numbered patent was erroneously described and specified as "Standard RailwafEquipment whereas said name should have been described and specified as --Standturing Gompan as shown by the record of assignt the said Letters Patent should be read with d of the case in It is hereby certified that the nam Company" ard Railway Equipment Manufac ments in 1111s office; and tha this correctio therein that the same may conform to the recor the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this .7th day of August, A. D. 19Lu5.

Leslie Frazer (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

